The Witches' Circle

Drying Herbs vs Freezing Herbs

Today I am going to talk a little bit more about plants and how they work and ways to preserve them long after the season.

My favourite way to do my research and learn more about a subject it's actually buying books. Of course this can be expensive but one book per month is possible thought.

I'm learning a lot about self made oils, balms, infusions, herbs, plants, how they work, herbology, botanical medicine or herbalism is the last thing I've taken note of.

Herbology is defined in the dictionary as

The study or practice of the medicinal and therapeutic use of plants, especially as a form of alternative medicine.

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We all know that fresh herbs may not be available all year round, so harvesting, drying and storing even freezing them may be a solution that ensures continuous access.

It doesn't matter if we harvest the herbs from our backyard, the woods or purchase them from a local market, the method remains the same.

Harvesting

Harvesting is best done in the morning once the sun has dried off any overnight moisture and.. To ensure that you collect clean cuttings, try to lightly hose any soil or dust off the plants the evening before.

Heavy duty kitchen scissors are ideal for harvesting and tugging on the plant should be absolutely avoided as this can cause root damage that may affect future growth, plus, the plant won't be happy to go home with you :fallen_leaf:

As a rule of thumb, herbs can be harvested when and to the extent that the plant is left with sufficient foliage to maintain growth.

After harvesting your herbs, you should wash them in cold water but only if you choose not to hose them down the previous evening has mentioned above.

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Drying

Important thing to have in mind is that when drying herbs, our goal is the retention of the oils contained in the leaves..

Dry them throughly then tie several sprigs together to farm small bunches.

String or dental floss can be used for tying and for hanging the bunches up.

Because the drying bunches might attract dust or insects or is a good idea to put each one into a paper bag with holes cut in for ventilation.

Heat dying using conventional or microwave ovens are further possible options

Drying time is 2/4 weeks.

Freezing herbs

This method is mostly done with herbs that contain a lot of water and to preserve the freshness of the leaves long after the season.

This method is best for herbs such as: basil, chives, lemon balm, mint and tarragon.

Stuff a spoonful of chopped herbs in ice cube trays, it is okay to be a little rough with them, that just releases their oils, which will get frozen along with the ice cubes.

Fill the ice cube trays halfway with water and make sure that the leaves are down into the water the best you can. Put the ice cubes in the freezer.

When the ice cubes are pretty much frozen, fill the rest of each ice cube with water, that will prevent the leaves to float.

Put it back into the freezer to freeze solid now.

Once the ice cubes are frozen, take them out of the ice cub trays and you can put them in ziploc bags and write their name on it.

You can do this with olive oil as well :curly_loop:

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Storing Dried Herbes

When the herbs are dry, the leaves can be removed from the stems. The exceptions to this step are lead varieties such as mint and thyme which is difficult to strip so the leaves and stem are ground for use.

The dried herbs are then stored in glass jars which are then kept in a cool dry area out of direct sunlight.

When the herbs are dry, the leaves crush easily so do it gently and with love.

Properly dried and stored herbs should be useable for about 12 months.